Open Your Eyes, Open Your Heart
by nhnnok
Summary: <html><head></head>Justin's seriously crushing on Zeke. He has been for years, but he's been afraid to tell him, and now Zeke's dating Harper. Will Zeke finally see what's right in front of him? SLASH, please review!</html>
1. So Irresistible

Disclaimer/notes from the author:

- I do not claim to own Wizards of Waverly Place in part or in whole nor any characters/storylines therein. If I did Zeke and Justin would be married by now, I hear Aliens are all for gay marriage.

- The story is set before Zeke and Justin graduated from HS, while Zeke and Harper are dating.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: <em>So Irresistible <em>

It was an ordinary Thursday afternoon in the Russos' wizard lair. Jerry, the wizards' father, was conducting the day's lesson on potion creation.

"Okay guys, I know potions aren't your favorite topic, but pay attention," Mr. Russo instructed. "I have called today's lesson _Ocean's Potions_, who can tell me why?"

Justin's hand shot up eagerly before his father had even finished asking the question. Alex, his apathetic sister, was sitting on the couch in the lair, texting away on her smartphone. Max sat at the table with Justin, but looked like he was only physically present. His eyes were fixed on the wall opposite the wizard world gate.

Jerry ignored his oldest son's fully extended arm and bouncing body. "How about… Alex! What do you think?"

"Uh, yeah, totally. Sounds great," she answered without looking up from her phone.

"It's not a yes or no question, Alex," Justin commented, keeping his hand raised.

"Oh, well, then it's definitely… B," she mumbled.

"No, Alex. It's not a multiple choice question either," Jerry said. "If you're not going to pay attention, why are you even here?" He asked his daughter rhetorically.

"Oh, cool, so I can leave?" She said as she stood up and hurried towards the exit. "Thanks Dad, see you later."

"No, Alex, stop! You know that's not what I meant, young lady!" her father protested as she walked out and shut the door. "Well, that's okay. She wasn't going to learn much anyway, and we could probably do with fewer distractions. So, Max, do you know why today's lesson is called _Ocean's Potions_?"

Max thought long and hard before answering, "'Cause they're potions...to help you rob from casinos."

Justin and Jerry stared quizzically.

"Oh, come on. You know, like in _Ocean's Eleven_, and _Twelve_… and _Thirteen_."

"Max, son, two things. One, you're too young to be watching those movies. And two, is that _really_ the best guess you could come up with?"

At this point Alex walked back into the lair. "I was about to head off to the mall, but mom guilted me into coming back to this bore-fest. In case I fall asleep in here today, just remember _it's mom's fault_, not mine. So let's just get this over with, what did I miss?" She asked uncaringly as she collapsed into the couch and crossed her legs.

"Not much," Jerry explained, "Justin was just about to answer my question." He pointed to his oldest son.

Justin finally put his hand down and spoke proudly in an instructional tone. "Thank you, Dad. Today's lesson is so entitled because it deals with marine -sourced potions. These tend to be inexpensively produced since all of the ingredients can be found here on Earth."

"That's right, _Justin_, thank you for that. I'm glad to see someone did the reading I assigned. Now let's take a quick look at some of these potions so that you know what they're supposed to look like." Mr. Russo unlocked a large cedar cabinet and started pulling out vials filled with liquids of various colors, explaining their effects as he set them on the table. "This gooey green potion is called Veritas Mucus and it's a very, very powerful truth serum. This black watery one is charmed kraken ink, it gives the user super strength. The effect wears off quickly, though. This thick yellowish one is called flubby tubby, it makes you gain weight extraordinarily fast."

'We all have your genes, dad—we have no use for that potion," Alex interjected with a chuckle.

"No way!" A bewildered Max shouted. "Dad's jeans can make you fat? I didn't know pants could do that!"

The others, by now used to his not-so-smart comments, ignored him as usual.

"Okay, moving right along… This next one is actually..." Mr. Russo looked and reached frantically around the three shelves of the lockable cabinet. "Oh no! Where is my irresistibility potion?"

"You mean_ red algae and blowfish liver_ irresistibility potion?" Justin asked, concerned. "Dad, you said that was a very dangerous concoction."

"It is extremely dangerous, Justin. That's why I keep it locked in here. I only have it so that I can show you what it looks like. Well, that and to give it to your mom when I eventually mess up so bad she won't forgive me willingly." They all knew that day was inevitable.

"Well, maybe you moved it. You know, to a safer place," Alex posited.

"No, I always keep it locked in here, I haven't even touched it in years. Which means that _one of you_ must have taken it." The three males stared accusatively at Alex, the most mischievous in the family.

"Well, I sure didn't take it!" Alex acted as if the accusation surprised and offended her.

"I'm serious, Alex. Drinking more than a tablespoon of that potion is fatal!" her father cautioned.

"I'm serious, too," she responded. "I didn't take your irresistibility potion. I have no trouble getting boys to like me. If anything you should suspect Justin! He's very... resistible. Maybe he finally got tired of having monster girlfriends and decided to steal your potion."

"Is that true Justin?" Jerry asked quickly.

"No, Dad, of course not. She's trying to divert attention from herself, like always."

"I have a question," Max interrupted, seemingly unaware of the ongoing conversation. "Does this potion work on lizards? I think it would be a great way to start my unstoppable lizard army."

His question was not answered.

"Well, I have reason to believe someone in this room took the irresistibility potion, and until that someone, ahem-ahem-Alex, returns it to its proper place, the lair is off-limits to everyone."

Justin gasped. "Dad, you can't do that."

Max stood up and attempted to help their cause. "Yeah, Dad. I mean, you can't really blame Alex for taking it. Maybe she wouldn't've done it if you hadn't made the potion so darn irresistible in the first place."

"Max I didn't take that vial! And it's an irresistibility potion, not an irresistible potion. Even I know that," Alex said.

Jerry spoke authoritatively, "I'm sorry guys, but I made my decision. All I can say is that hopefully that potion is returned to me soon."

The four stepped outside of the walk-in cooler and into the kitchen of the Waverly Sub Station. Jerry proceeded to place a magic-proof lock on the door handle.

Alex asked her father, "But where are we going to keep all our fresh ingredients now?"

Max answered her question. "Oh, Alex, we don't use 'fresh ingredients', _even I know that_."

"Haha, that's right Maxie, you're learning!" Their dad said as he walked away.

Justin grabbed his sister's arm and dragged her into the corner of the kitchen. "Alex, you have to give back that potion!"

"Justin, even if I did have it, I wouldn't give it back. No wizard lair means no wizard lessons; no wizard lessons means more naptime!"

"But you sleep during wizard lessons all the time anyway!" Justin shouted.

He, on the other hand, was very interested in his wizardry. He wanted to learn all he could from his father's lessons in order to stay ahead and win the wizard competition.

"Well, quieter napping then! I won't have to listen to all that learning going on around me. Speaking of napping, gotta go _catch some Zs_. That's something lame you would say, right?" She laughed and walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to their loft.

Justin held up a fist in annoyance. _Ugh, Alex_. His wicked sister had gotten her way... again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

**The story starts off slowly, sorry about that. **


	2. Left, Right

Chapter 2: _Left, Right_

Zeke noticed Harper sitting on a bench in front of Tribeca Prep, cheerfully flipping through a copy of the latest _Designing With Household Objects Monthly_ magazine. She was wearing a long blue dress with carefully appliquéd dark green pieces of cloth representing Earth's continents and other sewn-on objects that Zeke couldn't make out from where he was standing. More awkward, though, was her hat—half of a plastic globe map, the Earth's northern hemisphere. Zeke picked up his pace, hurrying towards her while geekily holding onto the straps of his overfilled red backpack.

"GOOD morning Harper Finkle!" He said with his usual morning enthusiasm. This was one of the things Harper really liked about her boyfriend. No matter what happened, she knew she could always count on his ever-present optimism and highly contagious smile.

"Hi sweetie! Did you get enough sleep last night?" Harper yawned most of the question. The couple had a ten-hour long old science fiction movie marathon at Zeke's house the previous night, which ended slightly after 1am.

"Yeah, about enough," he responded, also yawning, "What time did you get home?"

"Like 1:45. I had a really sweet dream about us! We were walking through Central Park, then started walking down a white sand beach, then we were walking right on the water over some waterfall. It was totally romantic, and you were holding my hand the whole way," Harper said excitedly, almost as if it had actually happened. "So did you dream about _me_? Or did you dream about one of those sci-fi girls from yesterday?" Harper quipped.

"Funny you should ask. I actually did have a romantic dream about you last night, and you looked _H-O-T_, hot!" he responded, licking his finger and holding it to his shoulder with a sizzling sound effect.

"Really?" Harper asked with more excitement than before, "So, come on, tell me all about it."

Zeke found it hard to conceal his excitement. He spoke quickly and started jumping around amusedly. "Well, it was _so _cool 'cause you had a robot body and you were going to join the RoboCop Police Academy! "And you had two built in laser guns, one wa—"

"Zeke, your robot fetish is _so _not romantic," she said frowning.

"Well, to me it is romantic," he countered.

"Ugh, if you'd rather date a robot go build one with Justin." Harper was getting upset. "Call me when you're ready for a human girlfriend," she snapped as she raised the open magazine to her eyes so that Zeke couldn't see her face. Only her repurposed "globe hat" remained visible above the magazine's covers.

"No, Harper, don't take it the wrong way." He said, pealing the magazine down to reveal the girl's face. "I like you just how you are Harper, and all the aliens and robots in the universe couldn't make me change my mind."

Harper tried to resist succumbing to her boyfriend's peculiar compliment.

"I really like your dress, by the way. It looks really awesome on you," Zeke commented.

This time Harper couldn't disregard flattery. She didn't get much praise for the homemade unique apparel she spent hours making, so she always loved it when someone remarked favorably on it.

"Really?" She asked excitedly. "You like it? I started on it last month, but it took a while to finish because I couldn't figure out how to get the broccoli to stay on the dress—it represents the major rainforests. Oh, and the sandpaper represents the deserts, get it, sand? And all the little islands were a pain to sew on, I spent…" She blathered about her dress for over a minute.

"That's awesome. But I thought our geography project presentations weren't till next week." Zeke asked, authentically confused. "Are you presenting early?"

"What? No!" The redhead responded, once again irked. He had managed to put his foot in his mouth for the second time in under five minutes! "This isn't for geography class! Sometimes I feel you really don't understand me, Zeke."

"I'm sorry, Finkle-Twinkle," Zeke pouted, "I didn't mean to make you mad."

Harper buried her face in the magazine once more. "Forget it Zeke. You'll never understand my individuality." The periodical she held at eye level helped her convey her anger, but it was primarily to shield herself from the boy's irresistible, soft-lipped pout, one only a blind girl could ignore.

"Come on. Forgive me?" Zeke pleaded. "How can I make it up to you? I'll do anything"

"I'll think about it," she lukewarmly said without looking at him.

He backed away knowing she'd come around. "Okay, well please get back to me soon, Finkley. I have to go study with Justin for our first period quiz. See you soon."

Harper didn't respond, but, as he walked way, she peeked at him from a crack between the edges her fashion magazine and hemispherical hat. He removed his backpack and carried it with his right hand as he walked towards the stairs. She admired his broad upper back, which narrowed beautifully into the perfect waistline. She decided he was forgiven as her eyes contemplated the alternating contractions of her boyfriend's tempting buttocks.

Left, right. Left, right. Left…

* * *

><p>Zeke met with Justin fifteen minutes before class, in a desolate section of hallway on the second floor of Tribeca Prep. The two liked to study there in the mornings before class because there were way too many distractions in the cafeteria and first floor hallways.<p>

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Zeke said. "I ran into Harper and we sorta had a fight."

"Oh, that sucks, man. What happened?" Justin asked with feigned sympathy.

"Well, I managed to piss her off twice in five minutes. First, she got mad 'cause I told her dreamt about her with a robotic body. Then, when I thought her dress was a project for school, she said that I don't understand her."

"Zeke, don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you two are just too different," the wizard suggested as he gently placed his hand on Zeke's shoulder. He stared at his mortal friend with longing eyes. _We're not too different, though. We're perfect for each other Zeke_, Justin thought, but didn't dare say it out loud.

Zeke frowned. "But I love her, Justin. I can't lose her, I can't."

Justin nodded but couldn't manage a response. It hurt knowing that he held second place in Zeke's heart when the Beakerman boy had been first place in Justin's heart for so long—almost as long as he could remember.

"Well we should get to class," Zeke pointed out. "Sorry I ruined our study session, but I'm sure you'll do fine—you always do."

He was right. In fact, Justin only insisted on studying together in the mornings so that he could spend more time alone with Zeke.

"Yeah, you go ahead, dude. I'll catch up with you," Justin told him.

Zeke slung his backpack over his right shoulder and said, "Alright, see you there. I'll save you a seat."

As he walked down the hall, the wizard's gaze remained fixed on his friend's rear end. Although his view was partially obstructed by the large red backpack, he could clearly see the rhythmic movement of the large, firm muscles beneath the faded denim that conformed to the contours of Zeke's lean lower body.

Left, right. Left, right...


	3. Russo Roundup

Chapter 3: _Russo Roundup_

Zeke and Justin sat down in the cafeteria with trays of food that looked barely edible. Zeke took satisfying bites of the meat-like dish while Justin just poked at his food, wondering if it was natural or synthetic.

"Gross, Zeke. How can you even eat this?" Justin asked, with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Oh, I just pretend it's alien food," Zeke explained in between bites.

"Ah, good one! It does look just like chagowka-dim." Justin picked up his plastic spork and sampled the dish. "Not bad," he concluded. "So where's Harper? She's usually here by now."

Zeke looked down at the table and didn't answer.

"Oh, that's right," Justin remembered, "you had an argument. Sorry to bring it up dude, I forgot. I'm sure she'll come around, though."

"It's okay, Justin. I—"

"Mr. Russo," Principal Laritate interrupted, "I've got your bandito sister locked up in the corral. She's serving lunchtime detention for putting locks on all of the doors to the gymnasium, apparently to get PE canceled this morning."

Justin smirked. "Mr. Laritate, that is great news! And, if I may chip in my two cents as _student body president_, I'd like to suggest that you give her lunch detention for the rest of the school year. It sounds like she committed a grave offense." Justin didn't like Alex and Harper sitting with him and Zeke at lunch, which they had been doing for two months, since the two started dating.

"Oh it is grave, even more serious than rustlin' longhorn steer. Now how would you like to be pent up in there with her for the next few months? You see, buckaroo, your sister tells me that you were the one who masterminded the gym lockup."

Justin's jovial expression instantly disappeared. "But, Mr. Laritate, that's absurd! I would ever do such a thing, you know that!"

"I know this ain't your usual rodeo routine, cowboy. However, your sister, as much as she lies, doesn't have a hard time taking full credit for her pranks, so I'm inclined to believe her when she says you deserve partial credit for this one. Now giddy up, let's head to the sheriff's office. Bring your grub with you...if you can call it that."

Justin got up and picked up his tray. Zeke sat silently and waved Justin goodbye. On their way to the principal's office, Justin continued to plead his case, insisting he knew nothing about the locked doors. They soon reached their destination at the opposite end of the school and entered the large office.

"Hey, big brother! So did you confess?" Alex asked, clearly amused.

Justin put his tray on a table and walked to his sister angrily. "Alex what do you think you're doing? You know I didn't lock those doors! Now tell Mr. Laritate the truth so I can leave!"

"Justin, of course you didn't lock the doors," Alex said.

Justin gestured to her and looked at Mr. Laritate, "See!"

"I locked the doors," Alex continued, "but only after you told me to." Justin scowled at her. "Remember? You said that you left your 'more supportive' undies at home, and that I had to get PE canceled because you didn't want your manhood 'flopping around'." Her skilled delivery made the story sound factual.

"I did not say any of that! Liar!" Justin blushed at the mention of his underwear. "I can prove it, I have a clean pair of Underarmour sitting in my gym locker right now!"

Mr. Laritate seemed uninterested in seeing Justin's sportswear. "I'm going to fetch me a snack from the teachers' lounge. You two partners in crime should figure out your story in the meanwhile. Don't try to escape or I'll have my deputies hunt you down like bison."

Two seconds after the principal left the room, Alex began laughing uncontrollably. 'Wow, I can't believe that actually worked! I really do surprise myself sometimes." She kicked her feet up on Mr. Laritate's desk and continued munching on her chips.

"Oh, you think this is funny? Alex, I've never had detention. This is going to go in my permanent record! Why would you do this to me?" Justin panicked.

"Oh, relax, you big drama queen. I'll sort this out later. I only did it to get you away from Zeke for a minute. You see, Harper has something important to tell him," Alex explained.

Justin was befuddled. "Oh, and this was the easiest way to do that?"

"No, but it is the most satisfying," Alex guffawed. "You should've seen your face Justin, it looked like Mr. Laritate was accusing you of murder. I swear it was like..."

Justin didn't care to hear what his face looked like. He let out a soft, doleful sigh and dejectedly leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and placing his arms over his stomach. "Just shut up, Alex, please," he asked in a faint voice.

Alex took her feet off of Mr. Laritate's desk and put her chips down. Seldom had she seen her brother so down. "Don't be so sad, Justin. You can see Zeke again right after lunch."

Justin quickly sat up defensively. "I—I'm not sad about not having lunch with Zeke," he said in an unconvincing tone. "I'm angry because this little prank of _yours_ might end up messing up _my _perfect record."

Alex looked directly at Justin and spoke in total seriousness, an unusual feat for the queen of sarcasm. "Justin, you're not a very good liar. I know you how much you value every minute you spend with Zeke Beakerman."

"I don't know what you're talking about. He's been my best friend since I can remember, of course I like spending time with him." Justin tried to ignore her.

"No, it's more than that. Justin, I know you like him."

Justin sat frozen for a few seconds, unsure of how he should respond. He could feel blood rushing to his face. "Uh, as a friend, yeah."

"Justin I know you're in love with Zeke. I've known for a while."

Justin's face got as pink as a flamingo. His ears turned the color of a pencil eraser. He had never told anyone about his secret, he thought he had fully concealed it from everyone.

Before Justin could respond, Mr. Laritate walked back into the room. "Sorry I took so long. There was a teacher in the lounge giving me lip because I decided to bring a couple donuts with me for the road." He was carrying an open box with half a dozen assorted pastries.

"Well, at least you were nice enough to only take half the box. They should be grateful," Alex said jokingly.

"Actually, I ate those on the way here," the principal confessed. "But she should be thankful I didn't challenge her to a high-noon duel!" He exclaimed, only half-joking.

"Um, Mr. Laritate," Justin finally managed to speak, "you didn't happen to hear any of our conversation as you walked in, did you?" He laughed nervously.

"Well, Justin, I'd actually be lying if I said no," Mr. Laritate answered calmly. "I did catch the bit about you wanting to play house with Zeke Beakerman, if that's what you're wondering."

Justin's face grew still one shade redder than it already was. He sank deep in his chair.

Mr. Laritate noticed how uncomfortable and ashamed his best student was. "Well don't go turning beet-red now, pioneer. There's nothing to be ashamed of! In fact, in the Old West, cowboys were known to 'keep each other warm' during long, cold nights on the range."

The two Russo siblings stared at their principal with dubious faces.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't see that _Brokeback_ movie? Well, let's just say that cattle drives sometimes, errr oftentimes, took a lot longer than necessary to reach their destination. Anyways, don't you worry, Justin, 'cause your secret's safe with us until you decide to step out of the teepee and wear those rainbow chaps proudly. Isn't that right, Ms. Russo?" he asked her in a commanding manner.

Alex nodded, first facing Mr. Laritate, then in Justin's direction to reassure him.

Although Justin wasn't ready to admit it, having others know his secret felt good. Having them react positively felt great. However, he was still scared that the whole school would find out and react not so positively, or—even worse—that Zeke might find out and never talk to him again.

After contemplating everything quietly for a few minutes, Justin finally spoke.

"Thanks, Alex. Thank you, Mr. Laritate."


	4. Houston, This Suit's Too Small

Chapter 4: _Houston, This Suit's Too Small  
><em>

While Alex and Justin sat in the principal's office, Harper walked into the cafeteria. She carried a long white garment bag in her left hand. She walked toward the table where the four usually had lunch. There, a lonely Zeke sat eating the less-than-appetizing cafeteria food.

"Hey there, loner. Mind if I join you?" Harper said as she took a seat across from him.

"Harper!" the boy said enthusiastically."Where have you been? Justin got taken to lunch detention with Alex!"

"Yeah, I know," Harper said dismissingly.

"Oh, you do? How? Were you detained too?"

"No, umm, Alex just texted me." She lied. Harper knew since that morning that Alex would try to get Justin stuck in lunch detention.

"Oh, so where were you, then?" Zeke asked.

"Well, I went home and thought about us," Harper said suspensefully, "and I figured out what you can do to make it up to me." she unzipped the garment bag she brought in and cheerily announced, "We're wearing matching outfits!" She pulled out a light grey suit with hand-painted bright and dark spots.

"Harper, I'm not really a fashion expert, but I don't think this matches what you're wearing." Zeke scratched his head.

"Of course it does, silly. It's a moon suit to go with my Earth dress. I skipped class this morning to go home and make it for you. See, these are the craters." She pointed to small, round, dark colorations on the suit that looked like stains. "These are the lunar seas, and this is the _Apollo 11_ landing site." Harper gestured to a small American flag that she had sewn on the right pant leg of the suit.

"Oh, I see it now!" Zeke said, nodding.

"Well, go on, try it on." She handed the suit to Zeke. "Oh, I couldn't find a light-colored suit your size at the thrift shop, though, so it might be just a teensy bit small on you." She indicated a small amount with her right thumb and index finger.

"Okay, I'll be right back, Finkle-Twinkle," Zeke said in a cooing tone.

He headed into the boy's restroom with the suit folded over his left forearm. Two minutes later, he emerged wearing the strangely designed, oddly fitting three-piece suit. The body of the coat barely reached Zeke's waistline and the sleeves stopped halfway down his forearms. The antiquated vest barely buttoned over his burgeoning chest. The pants were tight around his waist and thighs, they look more like capris than slacks on the tall teen.

There was pointing and snickering in the cafeteria as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom door, holding the normal clothes he usually wore. Although Zeke didn't seem to mind—or notice—that he was being laughed at, Harper was embarrassed for both of them.

"So, what do you think?" Zeke asked, gripping the lapels of the suit jacket.

"I'm sorry, Zeke, the design looked a lot better in my head, and I thought it'd be bigger than that! I don't really have much experience with guy clothes. You don't have to wear it. Go change back into your jeans and T-shirt," she advised, for both their sakes.

"I actually like it," he said, "very _out of this world_. I'll change back if you want me to, thought."

It was as if he existed only to please her.

The end-of-lunch bell rang and the students started heading back to class.

"I gotta get back to class," Zeke said, "I'll just change after next period."

Justin walked into the still-crowded cafeteria and spotted Zeke and Harper. He wasn't pleased to see Harper. She and Alex had gotten him into trouble instead of just asking him to give the couple some alone time. He forgot about that, though, when he saw Zeke's awkward clothes and noticed people making fun of him. He walked to where they stood.

"Zeke what are you wearing?" Justin asked, puzzled.

Before Zeke could answer, Harper cut in, "Oh, hey Justin. Alex told me what happened. How was your fist ever lunch detention?"

"Like you care," Justin coldly replied, staring blamefully.

Harper looked surprised.

Zeke stepped in. "Whoa, Justin. I know you're a little bummed because the man came down on you, but that is no way to speak to a lady. To my lady." His tone was stern, yet polite.

Justin was taken aback by Zeke's sudden assertiveness. He had never seen him jump at anyone's defense like he did for Harper. Justin didn't regret his comment, but he didn't want to make Zeke upset either. "You're right, I'm misdirecting my anger. Sorry, Harper. Sorry, Zeke."

There was a short awkward pause.

"So Justin, how do you like my dress? I know you're a big cartography nerd." Harper spun around twice, somewhat flirtatiously, so that Justin could appreciate the full splendor of her "masterpiece." She obviously still had a thing for the young wizard. Her parabolic hat continued to spin after the rest of her had stopped.

Justin spoke critically. "Well, the Yucatán Peninsula looks disproportionately large, New Zealand is too close to Australia, and it looks like your salad greens are starting to wilt."

Harper explained, "But the drying broccoli is meant to represent the quick destruction of the world's forests. You're an environmentalist, you should've gotten that."

Her unconventional medium for social commentary did impress Justin after she explained it, but he wouldn't admit it.

"Furthermore," Justin added, "you should've used the Gall-Peters projection instead of Mercator, it's a lot less distorted near the poles."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harper said, disappointed that Justin had only negative comments about the dress.

"What about my suit?" Zeke asked. "It's a map of the moon. Any pointers and/or comments?"

_Yeah, it looks more like a bad cow costume that you outgrew five Halloweens ago_, the wizard thought. He found it impossible to criticize Zeke, though, Justin just loved him too much to do so.

"It looks good. Turn around, let me see the 'far side of the moon.'"

Zeke spun around. He looked absolutely tragic. The pants were so tight on him that they had begun to ride further up his legs and into his butt crack, not that Justin minded it one bit. The hand-painted lunar features were surprisingly accurately positioned, though.

"Isn't that the suit you wore to your Bar Mitzvah?" Justin laughed, recalling the eventful occasion. "What'd your parents say when you painted all over it?"

"No, actually Harper picked this up for me in the morning and 'lunarized' it," Zeke said proudly.

"I didn't know you were into selenography!" Justin excitedly told Harper, his nerdiness momentarily overcoming his anger towards her.

"Yeah, I totally am," Harper said with a big smile.

Justin caught himself and put up his annoyed front once more. "Great, but the Copernicus Crater is actually smaller than that, and if that's supposed to be the Apollo 11 landsite, it should be a little closer to the southern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Also, the Sea of Serenity is slightly rounder than that."

Harper was once again disappointed. She looked at the Captain Planet watch she wore on her left wrist. "Look at the time, I gotta get to class. See you two later." She kissed Zeke on the cheek and headed off.

Harper didn't kiss Zeke on the lips very often, not because PDA was banned at Tribeca Prep, not because her boyfriend regularly fainted when she did do it, but because she didn't really see him in a romantic light. She saw him more as a friend and a tool. A tool to finally get Justin to like her the way she still secretly liked him. So far, that plan was seriously backfiring.

Zeke and Justin were the last people standing in the deserted cafeteria.

"We should head to class too," Zeke said.

"Yeah, see you after next period."

The two started walking in opposite directions. Justin stopped and turned around to look at his friend. He once again took notice of his behind. Oh, the things he would do to that plump backside. Zeke proceeded to get a drink of water from a water fountain. The built up pressure in the machine caused a thick stream of water to splash all over his head, chest, and shoulders.

"Crap!" Justin heard Zeke say quietly.

Justin felt he had to help his friend out. He was awkward enough on his own without having to wear an embarrassing undersized suit, and the idea of Zeke being mocked upset Justin way more than it did Zeke himself.

Justin looked around to make sure no one was watching. He quickly pulled his wand out of his back pocket and waived it, reciting, "My friend's outfit needs some aid, make that suit look tailor-made."

The three pieces of the suit quickly grew to Zeke's size like a curtain dropping to cover a stage. The hand-painted lunar surface changed into intricate carefully sewn-in mountains, craters, and seas. The suit looked like a million bucks, and Zeke looked even better than that.

As he brushed off the water from his upper body, Zeke noticed the change. Justin worried his mortal friend would freak out or suspect something, but was relieved when he heard Zeke obliviously exclaim, "Wow! And I thought water _shrunk_ clothes!"

Justin walked to his next class with a wide, satisfied grin that he would sport for the rest of the day.


	5. Don't Drink the KoolAid

Chapter 5: _Don't Drink the Kool-Aid_

Justin and Alex were quietly walking home together after school. Justin was not feeling ready to talk about the events and revelations that had occurred earlier that day. They saw Max running past them towards their street.

"Where's he going so fast?" Justin asked his sister.

"I don't know, he probably forgot that they have bathrooms at school, too." She snorted. "So why aren't you at Loser Language League with Zeke and Harper? Did you finally realize how lame it is?"

"If you're referring to _Alien_ Language League, I didn't go today because I'm going to try to recreate the **potion you stole** so that we can resume wizard lessons!"

"Ugh, again with the stupid potion!" she complained. "Don't get your Captain Bobby Sherman panties in a bunch, Justin. Dad'll get over it eventually - he always does."

Justin just rolled his eyes and shook his head. He did not want to start arguing with his sister in the middle of the street, especially not about magical matters. "It's Captain _Jim Bob Sherwood_."

"Tomato, _tomahto_. So how bummed was Zeke after lunch today?" Alex asked, changing topics.

"You mean because you got me in lunch detention? He wasn't bummed at all. He never is when Harper's around." Justin looked to the floor as he said this.

"Wait, so she didn't break up with him?" Alex asked, surprised.

"Are you kidding? They were all lovey-dovey." Justin audibly gasped as he stopped walking. "Did she tell you she was going to dump him? Is that why she wanted 'alone time' with him?"

Alex deflected. "No, but I know they had an argument in the morning, and I thought she finally realized what an alien loser he is and decided to ship him back to his home planet." She snorted once more as she pulled out her phone and quickly typed out a message on its large touchscreen.

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

**To: Harper**

**what happened! y didnt **

**u do it?**

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

"Wow you were expecting an awful lot of realizations today," Justin stated.

"Well that's me—the eternal optimist," she said sarcastically as they entered the sub shop. They greeted their parents and headed to the spiral staircase.

As they walked across the restaurant, Alex grabbed a customer's plate, saying, "Oh, sir it looks like there's something wrong with this sub. I'll have the kitchen make a fresh one. She took a bite from it and shouted with her mouth full, "Dad! This man needs another sandwich!"

"What was wrong with the first one?" Jerry asked.

"It was way too, umm, tempting," she said in between bites as she climbed the stairs. Her phone pinged.

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

**From: Harper**

**Couldn't do it. tell u about it l8r**

**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

Upstairs, at the kitchen island, they saw Max stirring a large pitcher of red liquid. He then began to pour it into a clear plastic bottle.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Justin asked as he walked to his brother.

"Well, I thought about it all day and I finally came up with a good plan during last period. I even ran home so I wouldn't forget it." He spoke as if he had hatched the greatest plan ever.

"Why didn't you just write it down?" Justin asked him.

"What, you mean like on paper?" Max's expression made it seem like it was the first time he had encountered the concept of writing.

"Yeah, dude, like on paper." Justin's said with a _WTF_ face.

"I guess that _could_ work…" Max pondered deeply, "if I took the portable shredder spell off my pant pockets."

"Why would you do that? It makes no sense!" Justin's voice was higher than usual.

"Ah, Justin, Justin, Justin, you have so much to learn my friend. Long confetti _always_ comes in useful. Allow me to demonstrate."

Max capped the bottle he had filled with red liquid and started jumping around celebrating. He pulled handfuls of shredded colored paper from his pockets and flung them into the air. "Woo-hoo! I finished the decoy potion. Let's party!"

"Yeah, I guess it _does_ come in useful," Justin excitedly conceded.

"_Decoy_ potion? Seriously?" Alex inquired.

Max nodded confidently. "Once we put this little baby in Dad's potion cabinet, we can tell him to look in there and he'll think it was never missing in the first place. You know, like when he can't find the ketchup bottle in the fridge."

"That is pretty funny," Alex laughed, "too bad your plan'll never work."

"Yeah, Max. What were you thinking? Dad would never fall for that 'decoy.' That looks nothing like a love potion vial, and this smells like cherry Kool-Aid," Justin said as he held the still half-full pitcher up to his nose.

"It is, but I put lime juice in it so that it wouldn't be so obvious."

"That's actually pretty good." Justin took two gulps, then made a sour face. "Ugh, but it has a nasty aftertaste."

"I soaked my dirty underwear in it to make it taste like blowfish liver," Max casually informed him.

Justin gagged and held both hands up to his neck as if he were choking. He ran to the bathroom to rinse his mouth.

Alex found the whole thing hilarious and almost fell of her chair laughing. After she settled down, she said, "No, but seriously, Max, this'll never work. Does the bottle even talk about side-effects like hazardous potion vials?"

"Yeah, I charmed it before I poured the Kool-Aid in there," Max said as he untwisted the cap.

The bottle released a short hiss before bellowing "Ohhhhhhh Yeeeaaaaaaah!" in the unmistakable voice of the Kool-Aid man.

"Maybe I did mess up," Max admitted and tossed the bottle in the garbage.

A loud "Ohhhhhhh Crrraaaaaaaaap!" echoed from inside the metallic trashcan.

Alex and Max just shrugged it off.

Justin returned from the bathroom. "Max that is _the_ nastiest thing I have ever put in my mouth. I would very much enjoy _killing you_ right now, but I have to go to Chinatown to pick up some red algae and blowfish liver so that I can make a _real_ potion to trick Dad. If I put a fast-aging spell on it, it should be ready in twenty-four hours.

* * *

><p>Justin returned home an hour later with the ingredients necessary to create the potion. He prepared the concoction using the chemistry set he kept in his room.<p>

Once he found a suitable container, he charmed it to call out the precautions to be taken when using the potent love potion. Justin aimed his wand at the bottle and said, "Speak, when your cork is removed, side-effects not FDA-approved."

He then cast a spell on the solution sitting in his Erlenmeyer flask so that it would become an effective potion a lot more quickly than usual. "Grow, mature, decay, make this age a year in one day."

The pinkish liquid started bubbling, turning darker and less translucent as soon as he finished waving his wand. Justin filled the antique vial he had enchanted with liquid from the flask. The wizard then corked the potion and smiled - it was his key to resuming wizard lessons so that he could ultimately win the competition and keep his powers for life.

A small amount of the effervescent liquid remained in the flask. He poured it into a test tube and also corked it. He had a gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face as he held the test tube in his fingers. This reserve amount could be another key, one to something perhaps more satisfying than magical powers.

A key to someone's heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes:<strong>

**- This is not the end! Thank you for reading this far, there is more to come. Please tell me what you think so far.**

**- This is my very first attempt at fanfic. I'm sorry for any discrepancies with the TV story/characters. I welcome any and all suggestions/comments, positive or negative. Please review!**


	6. The Big Reveal Sale

Here is a new chapter, finally. It's quite short, but it moves the story along (I hope) with its revelations [dun dun dun].

* * *

><p>Ch. 6 <em>The Big Reveal… Sale<em>

"Oh my gosh, I'm totally getting this!" Alex exclaimed, showing Harper a green shirt she found on the rack of the Reveal Boutique at the mall. All the stores were crowded, especially the pricier ones, and Alex was having trouble finding clothes in her size. "Aren't you getting something? This is a once-a-year sale! Don't see anything you like?" Alex asked her best friend.

"Well, I see a lot of stuff that could be improved upon… but I'd much rather go to the discount fabric store and pick up some scratch material from there. It's much less limiting."

"Not to mention much less stylish," Alex mumbled. Changing to a serious voice, she said, "So we didn't talk about what happened yesterday. Why didn't you break up with Zeke? I thought that was the plan."

"It was, but I couldn't do it. I think Zeke's growing on me."

"Seriously? So you're finally getting over my brother? After, what, five years? I hope it's true 'cause that was _never_ gonna happen." She stopped herself short of explaining why Justin would never be interested in her. "It was so weird. Not that Zeke isn't a weirdo." Alex grinned.

"Zeke's not that weird, Alex. He just has... eccentric interests."

"Yeah, clogging, Alien talk, and making a fool of himself. Quite eccentric indeed," Alex said laughing.

"Say what you want, but I think we're a good match," Harper proudly announced.

She was lying, she still only wanted to keep Zeke around hoping to arouse feelings of jealousy in Justin. Unfortunately, with Alex keeping her brother's secret for the moment, Harper continued thinking there was a chance for her and the handsome wizard.

"That's good," Alex said with little enthusiasm. She thought about her brother and how sad he looked when he saw Harper and Zeke hanging out together.

Harper looked around and whispered to Alex, "So I don't have to break up with him anymore, right? I mean he's no longer at risk of going crazy, is he?"

"I don't think so. Do you remember what the vial said when we opened it?" Alex asked quietly, not that the frenzied shoppers around them even cared what they were chatting about.

Harper pulled a small piece of paper out of her purse. "I wrote it down. It said use no more than one tablespoon per lifetime, unrequited love causes insanity, side effects include: gas, diarrhea, and drowsiness, don't bother contacting poison control center in case of overdose."

"Okay, so, if you love him back it's not unrequited and he won't go insane. You'll still have to put up with his farting, pooping, and sleeping habits, though. Hopefully not all at once," Alex chuckled. "Oh, but if you ever stop loving him, you have to dump him right away. That will end the spell so he doesn't go all crazy murderous stalker on you. At least I think that's what the book said."

Alex became somewhat distracted by the pile of jeans she was sifting through. She thought about Justin again, and how she might have ruined his chance at love to 'help' Harper. _Damn you, Justin. If only I knew you were 'artistic' before Harper made me steal that potion! Argh, then none of this would've happened!_ She lamented silently.

Since Alex first suspected Justin's sexuality the previous month, she had been advising Harper to forget it and break up Zeke. She didn't voice her suspicion to Harper, however, just reminded her of the potion's potential adverse effects.

Harper wanted to heed her friend's warnings, but she had noticed-and misread-the way Justin acted around him and Zeke. She was convinced that he would admit his feelings for her if she kept dating Zeke for a little while longer.

Alex broke their silence, "Omigosh, that's the cutest top ever! You have to wear it for your date with Zeke!" She dragged Harper across the store to a rack of trendy clothes.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for my prolonged absence - I got a proper job last year and haven't had much time to write/edit.

This chapter I actually wrote a while ago to explain Zeke's attraction to Harper, and how the potion disappeared in the first place.

Also, I have a longer chapter in the works, which I promise will be done soon!

Please, _please_ review (and inspire me to keep writing hehe)!


	7. Emergency Meeting

Chapter 7: _Emergency Meeting_

Justin slept in the next morning. He usually woke up no later than 6am, even on windy, cloudy, dreary Saturday mornings like this one, but he had slept so comfortably that he managed to shut off his alarm without being awake enough to even remember. His newfound relaxation was in part due to his secret being out. He had known for years that he was gay and hadn't told a soul. He felt like telling the whole world.

Well, everyone but Zeke. Justin feared his best friend might react unfavorably to the situation, especially if he knew Justin had been crushing on him for such a long time. He couldn't risk Zeke finding out, so he decided not to tell anyone else for the time being.

At 10:04 his phone beeped and a robotic voice repeatedly said "_Blardin rog_! _Blardin rog_!" – "New message!" in Alien.

Justin continued to slumber belly-up with one hand on his chest and the other under his pillow. The alert woke him, but he reacted slowly at first. With his eyes still closed, he shifted his body and reached for the cell phone resting atop his nightstand. He flipped it open and read the text.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-  
>From: Zeke<p>

hey, is Harper at your  
>house right now?<br>-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-

Justin quickly replied without getting out of bed.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-  
>To: Zeke<p>

Probably. Do you want  
>me to go check?<br>-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-

The wizard found it strange that Zeke was asking him about _his_ girlfriend's whereabouts.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-  
>From: Zeke<p>

yea can you? _birchok_  
>-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-<p>

Justin smirked, noticing that Zeke had confused the Alien language word for please with the word for crap. As he had only woken up moments earlier, though, he did not care to respond in Alien (even Justin is a _little_ slow on grey Saturday mornings), nor was he interested in correcting Zeke's humorous error.

-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-  
>To: Zeke<p>

Sure, hold on.  
>-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-<p>

Justin put the phone down and sat up on the bed. Every muscle on the front of his shirtless body contracted as he did so, exhibiting a sculpturally chiseled torso. He then got up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling as he let out a big yawn. His usually styled dark hair was mostly flat but stuck out in the back. He reached into his underwear and rearranged its 'contents', which had jumbled around during the night. The loose pajama pants he wore had slid down while he slept and sat well below his narrow waistline. He pulled the front of the pants up, but the back still sagged halfway down his ass. His light blue boxer briefs were wedged in between his buttocks and left little to the imagination. He left his room with his unlevel pants and no shirt.

He slowly walked down the steps to the basement and called out, "Harper! Harper, are you in here?"

[Clank]

"Aah! _Birchok_" Justin shouted, then muttered something under his breath. He had banged the side of his head on the water pipe that obstructively hung across the stairway space, which had been the cause of many a bumped head and countless expletive exclamations. It was placed so low that it forced everyone to get in the habit of crouching when using the staircase. Justin, however, miscalculated the height due to lack of practice; he had only been to the basement twice since Harper moved in.

He reached the bottom of the staircase as he rubbed his aching temple. "Harper!" he called out once more, and heard no answer. The bed looked like it had been slept in and hastily made, but there was no sign of her.

He walked back to the main floor of the loft and saw his mother standing out in the terrace, watering her plants. He opened the sliding glass door and felt the chilly air on his face. His chest and abs contracted with the cold, forcing him to cross his arms. His pink nipples quickly grew a shade purpler and stiffened.

"Mom, is Harper home?" His teeth clattered.

"No, honey, she and your sister went to the early bird sale at the mall."

"There's a sale today?" Justin asked, sleepily.

"Is there any other reason Alex would be up at this hour? Put a sweater on, m'ijo, you're gonna catch something.

"Okay, Mom. Thanks," he said as he walked back into the warmth of the kitchen.

"And some pajamas that fit you, Justin! No one wants to see your butt sticking out like that."

He pulled up his PJs with one hand and grabbed his phone with the other. He dialed Zeke's number.

He picked up on the first ring, "Hey, what's up?"

"Harper's not home. Went out shopping with Alex," Justin stated groggily.

"Oh, cool. Were you asleep? Sorry man, didn't mean to wake you."

"Yeah. It's okay dude, no worries."

"Good. So since Harper's not there, can I come over? I kinda need your advice on something."

"Sure, get your butt over here."

Zeke laughed. "Alright, my butt'll be over there in a few minutes."

Justin stepped out of the shower and entered his room. As he finished getting dressed, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" he yelled, running downstairs.

Zeke walked inside as soon as the door was opened. "Justin, I'm seriously freaking out." His hands were all over the place.

"Okay, calm down, what's going on?" Justin asked concernedly as they headed upstairs to his room.

* * *

><p>AN: My apologies for this short and somewhat uneventful update.

I've drafted the next chapter but it still needs a few edits – keep an eye out for it soon.

Thank you for reading, please review, I love reviews!

On another note, happy spring break! I hope all authors that have this week off from school/work take full advantage of it to finally start drafting that new idea, hastily put those final edits on near-finished pieces, and hurry up and publish/update before we have to climb back onto our hamster wheels for the most demanding part of the schoolyear!


	8. Performance Anxiety

Chapter 8: _Performance Anxiety_

Once they entered Justin's room, Zeke explained why he was so anxious and why he needed Justin's help so desperately.

Zeke began, "It's Harper, we're spending the whole afternoon together."

Justin looked unimpressed - he hoped that for once they could talk about something other than Harper. Nevertheless, he wanted to be there for Zeke and pretended to be interested.

"So? You've had tons of dates with her. What's the problem?" Justin asked reassuringly.

"It's just… my parents are out of town and we're going to my house afterwards. I think tonight's the night, Justin. I don't know what to do - it's my first time. Also, I want it to be really special for Harper. I thought maybe you could help me out, you know, give me some pointers." Zeke rambled on.

Justin's face twitched, he suddenly was interested. He wanted to prevent it. He couldn't bear the idea of Zeke waking up next to Harper and not him. He couldn't stop it, not if it was what Zeke wanted. He was quiet.

"Hello… Hello, Earth to Justin. You there?" Zeke said as he shook Justin to get his attention.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Justin tried to hide his jealousy, but it was clearly present in his quiet, distressed voice."Umm, so, special night, right. You need three things to make it special for Harper: take her to a good restaurant, dress to impress, and make it romantic. She'll love you long time if you 'nail' those things. Pun intended."

"I think I have that down. We're going to hang out in the park. Then we're going to that Middle Eastern restaurant on Canal Street. I'm actually more concerned about what happens after, you know _the sex_," Zeke whispered as he continued to nervously pace around Justin's room.

"Okay, sounds good. Make sure you get some candles and maybe rose petals to really make it special, she'll love that. You'll also need a couple of these. Better safe than sorry. The rest will come naturally, just go with the flow." Justin reluctantly handed his best friend some condoms which he conjured up while his friend wasn't looking. The thought of a _Zarper_ baby was enough to make him shudder.

Zeke took them with a slight blush, placing them into his back pocket. His phone beeped repeatedly. It was a picture message from Harper. The photo received showed her in the flirty outfit she bought at the mall.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-  
>From: Harper 3<p>

Meet me at our spot in  
>Central Park in 30min<br>xoxo  
>--/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Wow, Harper's looking so hot I might have to bring a can of liquid nitrogen," Zeke jokingly said. He showed Justin the pic.

"Yeah," Justin said dismissingly. "Remember, dress to impress. What time are you meeting? You should go change," Justin advised.

"Oh, I thought I'd just wear this. We're meeting in like half-an-hour." Zeke looked at his watch. He had on a faded pair of jeans, an Alien Language League t-shirt, and a grey hoody.

"No, that won't do it, Zeke. And you don't have time to go and change. Here, just wear some of my clothes."

Zeke didn't hesitate. He had full faith in Justin.

The wizard watched as his friend put on a nice pair of pants and tried on several of his button-up shirts. He took careful notice of the mortal's shirtless body. His upper arms and shoulders were filling out nicely, although they weren't as developed as Justin's. The pale skin on his abdomen didn't reveal ripped abs, but it clung firmly to his attractive torso; his _outie_ navel complimented it perfectly. Justin literally drooled and proceeded to wipe the corner of his mouth without Zeke noticing. Zeke found a shirt he liked and buttoned it. He then tried on Justin's black jacket.

"It's a little loose on me. Dude, you're getting too buff," Zeke said punching Justin's arm and letting out some laughter. Justin laughed along, thrilled to know that Zeke had noticed his changing figure.

"Nah, dude. You look great. I might have to pour liquid nitrogen on _you_ now!" Justin joked.

Zeke laughed. "Any more tips?"

"Uh, yeah, just one. You should let your hair grow out again," Justin said, playfully rustling his friend's inch-long, silky, light brown hair. He was careful not to linger too long so it would not appear unmanly. Justin found it extremely difficult-almost painful-to recall his right hand to his side as it begged to continue caressing the mortal's delicate bristles.

Justin looked Zeke in the eyes and gave him a friendly smile, but attempted to hide just how much he had enjoyed feeling the sensual brushing of his short hair against the webbing in between his fingers.

"Haha, you think so, dude?" Zeke asked, fixing his ruffled hair by running one hand over the top of his head. "I _have_ been considering it," he added.

"Yeah, man, totally. I would really - I - I mean," the awkward wizard stumbled over his words, "I mean I think _Harper_ would really like it longer." The pale skin on Justin's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he said this.

Zeke noticed his friend slightly blushing, but didn't comment on it. Instead he snapped his fingers and pointed in Justin's direction with both hands, announcing, "So it's settled, then! My long hair's making a comeback! Oh and if Harper doesn't dig it I'm gonna tell her it was your idea."

"Ummm. O-Okay," the wizard reluctantly agreed. Perhaps growing his hair long was a bad idea after all, Justin thought, it would only make it ten times harder for him to keep his hands from stroking that beautiful mane.

With that, Zeke grabbed the black jacket and put it on. "Thanks _so _much for helping me prep dude," he said, gripping Justin's right hand with his own. He pulled him close and patted him on the back with his free hand; Justin reciprocated the action in a "bro hug" that he felt was regrettably short.

"No problem, Zeke, anytime." Despite of the briefness of their contact , it was the highlight of the wizard's night, everything he had done for his awkward, adorable friend that afternoon was worth it when he got to feel his warm chest grazing against his own, rest his head on the slightly shorter man's shoulder, and catch a good whiff of that manly cologne, which smelled a million times better on Zeke than it did sprayed on his pillow.

Zeke walked towards the door and opened it. "Well, I'm off to my big date. Wish me luck buddy!"

Justin barely managed to half-grin while sucking on his lips. He glanced at the small wooden chest containing the irresistibility potion which he had retained; after briefly considering the possibilities, he quickly—albeit laboriously—shook the thought from his head.

"Yeah… you go get 'em, tiger," Justin muttered to the floor, barely audible and unenthusiastic. He didn't seem very happy for his best friend.

Zeke noticed this too, and didn't comment on it.

* * *

><p>Thank you again for all the lovely, supportive reviews! And please keep them coming! xD<p>

More is to come, and I promise I'll attempt to make the wait shorter this time.


	9. I love you, but

Chapter 9: _I love you, but_

"See you in a couple hours," Harper told Alex as she left the loft on her way to her date with Zeke.

"You two lovebirds have fun, and keep it PG," Alex advised dryly.

"Oh, I'm not sure I can guarantee that," Harper said, pausing at the top of the spiral staircase and biting her lower lip. By occasionally making comments like this one, she was totally succeeding in convincing Alex that she truly liked Zeke and wasn't just using him to make Justin jealous.

"Ew, how do aliens even—" Alex began to ask. Harper, knowing where Alex was going—as she never could resist the opportunity to make an alien joke at either Justin's or Zeke's expense—,hurried down the steps without hearing the rest.

_Maybe I should go easier on the guy now that my best friend's dating him_, Alex thought, then snickered at herself, wrinkled her nose, and shook her head dismissively. _Nah_. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold back and was fine with it.

Harper caught the subway to Central Park. She sat smiling as she ran through different scenarios of her grand scheme. Each would end with Justin admitting he had always loved her and jealously insisting that she leave Zeke and date him. In a couple scenarios the gallant wizard would even propose matrimony after loudly confessing his love for the "sexy, well-dressed redhead."

She internally acknowledged that such outlandish declarations of love were implausible at best. _Well, with the potion anything is possible, though_,she told herself_. No—you can't think like that. The plan is working, and I know Justin will soon open his eyes and admit his feelings. _ She was convinced that his continuing desire for her was not entirely in her head. Justin's increasing displays of jealousy convinced her all the more.

_It'll just be a little while longer, just a little while longer, a little while, _she repeated in her head without considering the irreversible consequences "a little while longer" might wreak on Zeke's sanity.

As her train neared Central Park, she continued to imagine more of these categorically impossible outcomes to her plan and couldn't resist letting out a romantic-film-worthy sigh.

She walked into the park and quickly spotted her nominal boyfriend splaying a traditionally checkered picnic blanket onto the grass under a shady maple. This had come to be known as "their spot," one which Harper herself had strategically chosen — less for the romantic value of the setting and more for its proximity to the A-line Subway station.

"You ready for a picnic at the most romantic spot in all of New York?" asked Zeke enthusiastically, from a distance.

Harper first thought he was asking sarcastically, then remembered this was Zeke speaking. It was decidedly not even the most romantic spot in the vicinity, though, let alone in all of New York: it was close enough to the edge of the park to constantly suffer the roaring and honking of angry drivers, not to mention the drunk homeless men who frequently stumbled through the area.

"Yeah, totally looking forward to it," Harper replied, finding it hard not to be sarcastic herself. She approached him and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Ha, you call that a fuckin' kiss?!" ridiculed the loud, raspy voice of a passing homeless man.

It appeared their "relationship" was inauthentic enough to elicit unsolicited comments like this one.

"Nosy bum," Harper mumbled to Zeke.

"He's right, though," Zeke consented, reaching both arms behind Harper's back and dipping her low while forcing his tongue inside Harper's mouth. He held her in this way for a good half-minute before pulling her upright and proudly exclaiming "I freaking LOVE this girl!"

"Yeah that's more fuckin' like it!" The voyeuristic hobo approved, still raspy.

"Now go to second base!" pleaded another onlooker from afar.

"Nah, skip to third!" called out a third.

The couple simultaneously blushed at the notion, Zeke looking to Harper while she made a dismissive gesture with her arm. Their relaxing date proceeded once the crowd had dispersed. It progressed predictably enough, with Zeke making film and television references and Harper inattentively nodding and smiling along.

Frequently, Harper would interrupt with questions about Justin's whereabouts, opinions, or endeavors. This pattern continued at the picnic and at the restaurant, with Zeke providing a quick answer to her queries and continuing to chat about science fiction, foreign dances, or "extraterrestrial" languages. Awkward silences were few and far between in conversations between these two.

Every time Harper mentioned the wizard, Zeke's stomach got more uneasy. Little did he know this response wasn't only psychological. His face reflected the emotions he was harboring, although Harper remained oblivious to his changing expression and asked about Justin once more, swirling her teacup, "So how often does he, like, work out?"

Zeke felt a strong abdominal pain burning at his core and hunched over slightly.

"Are you alright?" Harper asked, putting down her teacup.

"No, I'm really not," Zeke answered.

"I hope it's not the food," the redhead pushed her plate a couple inches away from herself with a frown, "that would be a surprisingly quick effect, though."

"Nope, not the food, I'll be fine," he stated in a plain but serious tone. "I'm just confused by your constant interest in Justin—we're supposed to be on a date. Not to mention you live with him."

Harper didn't know how to respond at first. Neither her actions nor her motives had ever been challenged by the light-haired boy since he had unwittingly drunk the love potion. It had, in fact, been nothing but compliments, apologies, and declarations of everlasting love. She stumbled over her words, "I—I was just wondering how he was doing."

Zeke continued, in a hurt yet calm manner, "I know you used to have a thing for him, and I've noticed that you act differently whenever he's around. It's almost as if you were trying to make him jealous."

For all of Zeke's aloofness, he was surprisingly attentive of actions, gestures, and surroundings.

"Zeke, I can understand why you might think that, but it is all in your head, I promise."

"I love you, Harper. I can't help but love you; I think I always will. I wanted you to come to my place tonight since my parents are out, and I still do, but first I really have to get to the bottom of this." He struggled to say all this through the pain.

The bill was settled and they left without saying much else.

The jealous pangs of pain began shooting directly up Zeke's spine into the base of his neck. Could this pain really be jealousy alone?

Having the same destination, and not having considered this before leaving the restaurant, they rode the same train to Tribeca without speaking. Awkward. Zeke's pain fortunately began to subside, if only somewhat.

}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

Justin Russo opened his bedroom door upon hearing insistent knocking. Zeke Beakerman stood in front of him.

"Your mom let me in," he explained.

"You didn't take Harper over to your place?"

The wizard's face went from confusion to relief.

* * *

><p>AN: Hello all! I know I promised an update a LOONG time ago; I am a liar. Alas, it is finally here and hopefully y'all enjoy it. My job has been very demanding lately, but has just begun to wind down, which means more-frequent updates. Unless I'm lying again (small joke).

I felt the story was unfortunately losing the humor it had in the first chapters, so I tried to have some fun with this one (with limited success).


	10. Do you daka Harper?

Chapter 10: _Do you _daka_ Harper?_

Zeke noticed the look of relief on Justin's face. It confirmed his suspicion.

"Justin, I really don't know how to ask this, so I'm just gonna come out and say it," Zeke cautiously prefaced.

Justin stiffly bit down on the inside of his lower lip in anticipation, fearing that his cute, _straight_ friend had found out his secret.

Zeke swallowed hard in preparation, his pronounced Adam's apple quivered. His voice sounded strained and betrayed "Do you like Harper?"

As soon as he finished hearing the question, the wizard's face showed both relief and puzzlement, along with a hint of outrage. He furrowed his brow and raised his arms outwards. He sounded rather betrayed himself as he quickly shot out, "What?! No, of course not! Dude, you're my _best friend_! You know I wouldn't do that to you!"

Zeke stood his ground, arms crossed across his broad chest. His supple face and rose colored lips remained skeptical, but his big brown eyes clearly revealed that he wanted to believe Justin. "No," he replied, shaking his head, "I don't believe you, Justin. I can't. I've seen the way you look at her, how you treat us when we're together-"

"Zeke, no it's n-" he made an effort to interrupt.

But his light-haired companion continued, "how you get when she spends too much time with me, how you blush when I even just _say her name_, damn it!" He raised an accusatory finger and his voice grew louder and more irritated with every word.

"Zeke wait," he made a second attempt at stopping Zeke's tirade. As he said it he gripped and squeezed Zeke's left shoulder, trying to calm him down.

Zeke shook him off and persisted,, "Oh, and also-"

"Zeke! Shut up!" Justin ordered, raising his voice to match his friend's. This time he grabbed both of Zeke's shoulders and shook him vigorously until he did as instructed. "Thank you," the wizard sighed, "now listen carefully: _I do not like your girlfriend_." He carefully enunciated each word, although the last two were very hard for him to say. He ended by giving Zeke the most reassuring smile he could manage.

It worked. The tense expression on Zeke's face eased and his habitual smile quickly returned. "Really? So you don't _daka_ Harper?" Zeke asked, using the Alien-English blend they had come to call Englien.

"No, I do not _daka_ Harper," he raised his right hand as if he was about to testify in court, "_blinchar-tsk_" - I promise in Ancient Venusian.

"Oh, I'm _so _happy to hear you say that, buddy, you have no idea," Zeke exhaled. "I really didn't want for us to fight over this. And I'm really sorry I accused you in the first place, I know you're a better friend than that. It's just…I know she used to have a thing for you, so I got really scared that she would go running back to you if she thought you still liked her."

"What do you mean _still_ liked her? I never liked her - not like that, anyway," he clarified.

_I like YOU, you blubbering idiot! I _daka_ you more than anything in the world. Why can't you see that? Why can't you see something that's right in front of your eyes?!_ How Justin wished he had the courage to say this out loud, but he couldn't - he wouldn't; he just thought it. He was not willing to jeopardize their friendship over this because he knew, should he be rejected, he couldn't live without the Beakerman boy at his side. Even if it meant they couldn't be anything more than friends.

"Well, you know what I mean. I think she's _the _one, Justin; I know it. And I'm so afraid to lose her. I wouldn't stand a chance with her - not against you!" Zeke lamented.

Justin felt his stomach clench as he heard Zeke's confession, it pained him to hear how much his friend loved Harper. It upset him almost as much as the glum, unconfident expression on the mortal's face.

"Zeke, buddy, you have to start giving yourself more credit!" He tried to give his friend's self-confidence a boost, " Just remember the Seven Cs!"

"Seven Seas?" Zeke asked, somewhat puzzled. Seeing Justin nod, he began listing them out loud and counting with his fingers, "Mediterranean, Black, Arabian…. hmmmm…. Caspian…"

"No not those seas, silly," Justin chuckled.

"Oh are we talking about lunar seas again? I can go get my suit," he offered, pointing his thumb to his right.

"No, no. Seven _Cs_" the wizard said and made a C shape with his right hand. "It's a mnemonic I came up with when I had poor self-esteem. Just remember: _Continuous Casual Confidence Conquers Cool Chicks' Cerebra_."

"Ah, I like it," Zeke admitted, vigorously nodding with his whole body. "But _cerebra_, really? You mean conquers chicks' _hearts_?"

"Perhaps that sounds more 'romantic,'" Justin used air quotes as he said the word, "but it didn't fit my alliterative theme. Besides everyone knows emotions happen in the _cerebrum_-the cardiovascular system has nothing to do with it! And it's my mnemonic, so take it or leave it."

"I'll take it!" Zeke shouted eagerly. "So, how exactly do I achieve a state of 'Continuous Casual Confidence'?"

"That, my friend, is the easy part. Appearance and demeanor are the bulk of it. So stand tall, back straight," he ran his left index finger down Zeke's spine, causing him to reflexively uncurl his vertebrae, "chin up," he pushed up on his trainee's chin with two fingers, "shoulders back," he adjusted Zeke's arms as if he were a mannequin, "and you're set. Now practice walking around like that."

Zeke walked around awkwardly. His first steps resembled those of a partially paralyzed zombie penguin, but he kept at it. He was so committed to keeping his arms in place that he didn't use his hands to break his fall as he tripped over a pair of Justin's sneakers and landed headfirst on the carpet.

"Ouch!" they said simultaneously with a grimace. "You okay, bud?" The wizard asked with genuine concern, as he helped his _bud_ to his feet. "How did you not see those there?"

"I'm cool!" Zeke responded, a little disoriented. "And, well, you said not to look down, how was I supposed to see them?"

Justin let out a chuckle as Zeke rubbed the side of his head. "I said chin up, dude, big difference. At least now we know we have lots of work to do." They both laughed.

The wizard continued "training" his mortal friend in being confident to get what you want. He even gave him some pointers on how to get closer to Harper after he saw how authentic his love for her was - or at least appeared.

It pained Justin's heart-errr, _cerebrum_-that helping Zeke would ultimately lead to his best friend strengthening his relationship with Harper, or some other girl. He was effectively doing himself a disfavor, and he didn't have to do it. He considered this as he helped his friend become 'casually confident,' but he couldn't stop himself. It was satisfying to be so close to Zeke, being able to guide his movements manually, to feel his warm ivory skin, to brush the ever-so-slight stubble on his chin; but most satisfying of all was seeing that smile, that genuinely content, wide grin which had been present in so many of Justin's dreams and fantasies.

Seeing Zeke happy was the biggest reward of all.

a/n: The title and some of the elements of this chapter allude to S02E10 ("Baby Cupid"), where Cupid brings Harper and Justin together and Zeke at one point mocks "Justin _daka_ Haper."

While I do like this chapter, I think it lacks in action/progression a bit; hope to fix that in the next installment. I have begun writing the next chapter, but haven't had time to really develop it. Fortunately, I do have a long (and hopefully productive) summer break coming up very soon!


	11. How awkward is this?

Chapter 11: How awkward is this?

As the two guys talked in Justin's bedroom, Harper was debriefing Alex—at her behest—on the day's events. They sat on Harper's basement-room bed.

"So he just kind started feeling bad at the restaurant and that's why we ended up cutting it short," Harper explained in her edited version of the events.

"Well, why didn't you go back to his place with him? You said his parents are on vacation, right?" Alex asked.

_Ugh, Alex. You forget 75% of what I say, but you remember THAT!_ Harper thought; she was having a hard time coming up with an excuse without revealing the truth. "They are. Zeke didn't really want me to. Maybe he's not ready or something."

"Oh, I've seen the way he looks at you, Harper. He _wants_ you. Blech, it's a bit nauseating to tell the truth. Besides, after that potion you fed him, he's ready to go for you twenty-four-seven. No prep time required."

"Well, to be honest, Alex…" Harper hesitated before coming clean, "we had a bit of a fight."

"Oh. That's still not a big deal, though, not with the potion in him. What did you fight about?"

Harper found no point in lying, considering Zeke was at the Russo's house at the moment and Alex would eventually hear the whole story from either him or Justin. She did want to equivocate just enough, though, to prevent Alex from forcing her to break up with Zeke, as she was still convinced her master plan would gradually come to fruition.

"I just asked him a couple things about your brother and he started freaking out."

"What? Strange… Why were you talking about my brother on your date anyway?"

In her response, Harper neither looked at Alex nor did she sound convincing, "Just came up. You know, um, casual conversation."

Alex, who had been convinced until now of Harper's good intentions with Zeke, finally put two and two together. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed. "You're still in love with Justin! This is all STILL just a plan to make him jealous isn't it? You lied to me."

Harper had been found out. There was no point in feeding Alex more lies or in trying to justify her actions. She remained quiet. It seemed this was the right course of action, as Alex quickly pushed through the judgmental phase and into help-a-friend mode. Harper was silently thankful for this, considering that Alex's judgmental phase usually lasted a lot more than two quick sentences.

"Crap, Harper, you know what this means. That crazy-ass alien-loving weirdo is gonna get even kookier and go all psycho-stalker on you. Crap, crap, crap! It might already be too late! Did you say he was feeling bad at the restaurant?"

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure that was just the food we had there."

"What if it wasn't though?! What if that was the beginning of the potion backfiring?"

Alex's sense of urgency compelled Harper into doing what it took to remediate the situation.

"Harper, you have to fix this," Alex demanded. "You have to see him right now and dump him to cancel out the potion's effects. Actually, you know what, just call him and do it."

Harper slowly reached for her phone. She thought back to the day's events and Zeke's painful episode at the restaurant. _Was it really the potion that did that? _she wondered.

"Alex, shouldn't I do this in person? You know, to see how he reacts and make sure he is not insane."

"That's the first reasonable thing you've said since hatching this half-assed plan," Alex commented, judgmental once more. "Grab your coat; I want to see you do it to make sure."

"Let's go. Won't need coats, though, he's upstairs talking to Justin."

Alex paused, glared and tilted her head. "You're kidding, right? You must've done a real number on that boy, Harper. You pissed him off by talking about Justin on your date and still he comes over to see guess who: Justin. If that's not him starting to go insane I don't know what it is."

"They're just clearing something up, I think."

"Yeah, Justin's blood off the floor, probably. Let's get this over with."

They headed up the stairs.

"_Justin's_ blood? Zeke may be going crazy, but your brother can easily take him, or y'know, beat him."

"Oh, and he does want to both 'take' him _and_ 'beat' him, trust me, but he'd probably be too into it to stop him." Alex managed a seamless, snortless delivery.

A perplexed, unilluminated "What?" was all Harper managed to utter. She dismissed the comment as more of Alex's sarcastic off-color humor.

As they walked into the living room, they noticed the guys in the kitchen area. Zeke was leaning against a countertop and looked at Harper longingly. In an attempt to project his newfound confidence, however, he slightly overdid both the puffed-out chest and raised chin, effectively making himself look simultaneously awkward and upset, not confident and longing. Harper understandably mistook the leering look for disdain or insanity and stared intermittently at her boyfriend and the floor. The scene continued for what seemed like a never-ending minute.

"Wow, how awkward is _this_?!" Alex exclaimed, in an attempt to break the ice.

"It looks like it might already be too late," Harper whispered at Alex.

"Get over there and break up with him!" Alex whispered back, "Before he gets too close to the knife block and it really is too late." Even at times like this, there was intentional humor in Alex's comments.

The tension, which Zeke foolishly continued to regard as a romantic exchange, persisted while Harper worked up the nerve to tell Zeke what she'd come to say.

"I'm going to pour us something to drink," Justin said, momentarily breaking the silence.

Justin couldn't stand it any longer. Giving the potion to Zeke was against his better judgment; he didn't like using magic irresponsibly, but he couldn't help feeling that he and Zeke just belonged together. No doubt about it._ I'll treat him SO much better than this_, he thought.

Justin pulled two glasses out of an eye-level cabinet and set them on the countertop. Assuming the others present were too caught up in the scene taking place behind his back, Justin freely poured the test tube of potion he had reserved into one of the glasses. Alex did notice, however, and quickly recognized the telltale appearance of the irresistibility potion. He opened the fridge and proceeded to pour cranberry juice into both glasses, setting the potion-loaded one close to Zeke.

_Shit! Shit! Shit! _Alex thought. She ran and pulled Justin to the side. Harper and Zeke continued their awkward staring.

"Justin, you can't do that! Zeke alre-"

Justin interrupted her as she tried to confess, whispering "Alex, I know it's a pretty messed up thing to do to Harper, but she doesn't – she doesn't deserve him, damn it!"

"Justin you don't understand!" she pleaded.

Zeke turned to face the whispering siblings. Then, unable to make out what was being said, faced Harper again, picked up the glass nearest him, and brought it to his lips.

* * *

><p>Author's note: Thanks for your continued reading and support! Please commentreview. I'm pleased with this installment, as it moves the story along, but—as always—I openly welcome any comments on how to improve my writing!


	12. Death in a Tumbler

Chapter 12: Death in a tumbler

As they whispered on, Zeke shrugged, then picked up the glass and brought it to his lips. Alex, who was facing him, desperately jumped forward in an attempt to stop him from drinking the fatal concoction. Her brother's quick arms, however, quickly blocked her path and brought her back to where she was standing.

"Wait, don't -" Alex managed to say before Justin's left hand unclutched her shoulder and covered her mouth. "Eeem - don't - mefmmfm - mooos" and a series of cautions, muffled beyond all intelligibility, were all Harper and Zeke heard at the other side of the room.

The scene was enough to draw Zeke's attention, he slowly pulled the glass back away from his lips, without having drunk from it, but still unaware of the danger it posed. Harper also broke eye contact with Zeke and shot Alex a "what's going on?" look.

Justin, feeling the pair of stares aimed in his direction, but not turning around, tried to alleviate the situation. "A - Alex!" He said, almost lovingly, "you gotta finish telling me this story before you go telling everyone. I want to be the first to hear it." His tone was hardly convincing, but the wizard siblings were known to frequently have strange sidebars the rest of the room was not privy to.

He leaned his head down to be level with his sister's ear. "Don't you **dare** stop him from drinking that," he whispered in an absolutely intimidating tone.

Alex, who was still facing the couple and seeing everything Justin was not, sighed at the sight of Zeke placing his drink back on the counter and resume his awkward "seductive" stare and pose with Harper. The prize boyfriend was safe for the moment. She was still trying to break free of Justin's hold and secure the boy's life. Figuring she would not get past Justin, she decided her best shot was quickly reasoning with him to prevent the catastrophe.

"Justin you have to listen, Harper alre-" Alex attempted to explain quickly, as fast as her tongue and lips would allow.

"I don't give a shit about Harper!" He cut in, getting emotional now. "I told you she doesn't deserve him."

"No, Justin, listen. You **can't **do this because Zeke has alr-" She tried explaining a bit more slowly and calmly now.

He interrupted once more, voice almost breaking. "I can do it! I can! And besides it's already done. Too late now to try to change my mind."

Alex saw Zeke's hand inching despairingly close to glass once more. Now knowing she could not reason with Justin, escape his hold, nor yell without being muzzled, she opted to mime a warning who was aware of half the situation.

She mimed a potion being poured into a container and then drinking it; pointing desperately to Zeke she put her hands around her neck in an alarmed choking signal. This was all she managed before Justin held her forearms down. Pointing at Zeke, who was now holding the glass, and signaling with what appeared to be facial tics was all she could do. But the charades only produced a quizzical expression on Harper's face.

The redhead, who misunderstood the signals as advice that she should talk to Zeke, unsurely approached him and attempted to start a conversation.

"So Zeke," she said meekly.

Zeke quickly put the glass back on the counter, comically restraightening his back and puffing out his chest. "Yeah?" he asked in his usual excited voice. "I mean… What?" he rephrased using a lower tone in a failed attempt to seem superconfident. The conversation went nowhere.

Alex couldn't take much more of the suspense. Neither could Justin, who was picturing the whole scene in his head.

Zeke began to feel thirst from his undeniable nervousness and the scratchy feeling in his throat after using a voice that was not his normal one. He reached for the juice and brought it mouth level.

Alex opened her mouth in an attempt to yell out a warning, but Justin anticipated this from the exalted look on her face and covered his mouth, ensuring the only audible noise was once again a muffled cry. Zeke's lips were once again on the rim of the tilted glass.

Alex bit down as hard as she could on the hand covering her mouth, breaking the skin on Justin's palm. As he yelled and cursed, she pushed him out of the way, lunged forward three giant steps, jumped, and tackled Zeke hard. As he went down, Zeke spat out the mouthful of juice that he had fortunately not yet swallowed. They both fell to the ground and Alex rolled off of him, still carrying the momentum of her epic leap. Justin jumped to them and helped Zeke to his feet.

"Dude, you okay?" he asked. Then, quickly turning and shouting, "Alex, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm fine, looks like you're worse off man," Zeke said as he rubbed his aching head and pointed at Justin's injured hand, which was now dripping blood. "So what is this, some kind of Russo tradition?" He unresentfully lent a hand to Alex, who was still on the floor.

"Yeah, it's called drink my juice and you'll get tackled," Alex said with a faint laugh.

"Fun," Zeke chuckled, still holding his head and grateful he missed the sharp edge of the countertop as he went down. "Anyway, I should get going before I get bitten. See y'all later." He left, confused. For him, however, confusion was not an unusual state in which to depart.

Justin was too furious at his sister to even say bye. His glare and puffing breath said it all.

Harper took it as a hint and also left. "See you guys, later," she said quietly as she ran down the spiral staircase.

"What the HELL is your PROBLEM?!" Justin repeated.

"Hey, listen, calm down. There's something that you have to know," Alex breathed, still a bit winded.

"What?" Justin asked, still shouting and ready to explode. "You already ruined everything. I guess you might as well tell me what the hell you did it for!"

Alex hesitated before saying, "Zeke has already had a dose of the potion. That's why he's in love with Harper." She avoided eye contact when explaining this.

Justin made the most enraged expression imaginable. He couldn't manage to speak. Then, his fiery gaze became weak and his eyes began shimmering and watering. He wiped at them with his forearm and retreated upstairs to his room.

Alex had never felt worse.

* * *

><p>Author's notes:<p>

1) I would not want Harper on my team for charades.

2) Do pardon my prolonged absence. I just moved to a new city and have been dealing with everything that goes along with that, but fortunately I am settled in now. Next chapter is in progress.

3) Please comment, be it positive or negative, I promise it's extremely inspiring (thus making updates more frequent!).


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